Till the Day I Die
by Reaper98
Summary: a collection of One-shot about the tributes last nights in the trainin center. What were they thinking, and what were they going to do. Working on more chapters by demand. WARNING: A Bit Emotional. EDIT: I know i was accepting requests for characters not mentioned in the book, but i dont think thats such a good idea. perhaps in the future i will continue writing this.
1. Till the Day I Die

**Till the Day I Die**

_Rue's POV_

I sat on the balcony, staring out onto the street below, where a raucous parade was taking place. These Capitol people were freaks, partying on while innocent children fight to the death for their entertainment. It was barbaric. The games were barbaric.

The games.

I was going into the game's tomorrow. Chances are, I won't come out alive. I enjoy my last night of freedom, before death takes me. With luck, it might be a painless death. I was terrified; what would I do? I needed an ally, a person who I could count on. I wanted to ally with Thresh, but he denied since he believed that he would be an even bigger danger to me. He believed that the Careers would target him first, since he was strong. I believed him, the Careers were vicious, especially Cato and Marvel. They would stop at nothing to kill both of us. Thresh is strong, but even he can't stand against two fully trained Careers. I felt fear clench at my heart. I was going to die, within two weeks I will no longer walk in this world. I wondered how I would die; an arrow to the heart? Drowning in the water? A spear or knife hitting a vital organ? Mutt's mutilating me? The possibilities were endless.

I took a few deep breaths. _"Calm down Rue. Face Death with dignity. Don't let them see your fear." _ I thought to myself, filling myself with false hope. Maybe I could win this; maybe I could somehow escape the arena, or survive long enough. The games couldn't go on forever; they would have to end it somehow. I sat there in deep thought, totally oblivious to the person who was walking up behind me onto the eighth floor balcony.

"Rue, what are you doing up so late? You need your sleep, the games are tomorrow." Thresh's deep voice resounded from behind me. I jumped. I hadn't noticed his arrival. He sat next to me, and wrapped a huge arm around me, encompassing me completely. I had known Thresh for years, ever since that fateful day seven years ago when I fell out of that tree.

It was a sunny day. I was five years old, and already I could climb higher than any of the other kids. I flew through the trees like a squirrel, picking the highest fruit, not getting in trouble with the Peacekeepers. I was even able to sometime steal little Javaberries, and take them home to my family without any Peacekeepers noticing. I had a younger sister and a baby brother, my two other siblings weren't born yet. I was going through a crabapple tree, when suddenly, I saw a Trackerjacker nest. I screamed and tripped, and started falling down the tree. Thresh who was eleven at the time, was two trees away, and he ran forward to catch me, scraping his knees and elbows in the process. It was a good thing he caught me too, or else I would have broken my neck and died. Thresh delayed my death by seven years.

I snuggled into his warmth. Thresh always had a way of soothing me. Being the oldest in my family, I didn't have any older siblings to look up to, to go to for comfort. Thresh provided that for me.

"Rue, what's wrong?" He asked me in a gentle voice, not wanting to betray his own fear as well.

"Nothing, just the fact that I will definitely die anytime within the next two weeks, and it most likely will be painful as heck." I said, trying to keep my voice level. The quiver in my voice betrayed me. I burst out sobbing into Thresh's shirt.

"Rue, it will be okay," Thresh said soothingly, petting my hair. I slowly broke away from him sniffling and rubbing my eyes. I suddenly heard voices from the roof.

"…If I'm going to die, I still want to be me…" a voice said softly. I recognized it as the District 12 boy, Peeta. I looked at Thresh.

"I guess District 12 can't sleep either," I said, still sniffling. I could just barely make out the profile of Peeta leaning over the railing above. He seemed like such a nice guy, but he had joined the Careers. Katniss on the other hand, she was a whole different story. If I had to ask someone to be my ally, it would definitely be her. I sighed and leaned over the railing. The parade was in full swing, and I could see all the grotesque Capitol fashions even from this height. I turned back to Thresh, who was now lying down on the hammock at the edge of the balcony that jutted out. He had his arms behind his head, and was looking up at the stars. I sniffled and lay down beside him. Thresh took my tiny face in his hands and brushed away my tears. He was being so gentle, so understanding. He kissed my forehead and lay me down next to him. I snuggled up into his side. Thresh was the big brother I had never had.

"Thresh; you think that they'll survive without us?" I asked. My biggest fear was that, without our help, my younger siblings and Thresh's sweet old granny and strong sister would starve to death. The fear clenched at my heart. In my mind's eye, haunting visions filled my view, visions of my little sister's being kidnapped and raped, images of my little brothers being beaten by peacekeepers. I could imagine the whole lot of them starving, turning into nothing more than husks. I shuddered and snuggled closer into Thresh's side. I heard him give a small grunt of discomfort when I jabbed his ribs with my elbow, but otherwise, he said nothing. We lay there, staring up at the stars.

"Rue, did anyone ever teach you the names of the stars?" He asked.

"No."

"Well, it's time someone did. See that one over there, those four stars and the small star leading off. Well, before Panem, they used to call it the Big Dipper. The one over there is Cancer, the Crab. They had a story, about a very strong man named Hercules, and how he killed that crab. Do you want me to tell you the story?"

"Sure," I replied. Thresh told me the story of Hercules, and many other stories about the stars. He showed me all the constellations, and we laughed at the one's that looked nothing like what they were called. Finally, we grew tired and just stared up into the heavens. All my worry was gone. I felt weightless, and a strange lightness filled my heart. I started to feel drowsy. Thresh pulled an arm around me and hugged me close, like a teddy bear.

"Thresh, don't abandon me," I muttered dropping off to sleep. I heard him mutter his last sentence before dropping off to sleep.

"I won't abandon you," He said, pausing for a moment. "till the day I die."

**This is just a brief one-shot about Rue and Thresh's time before the arena. If i get enough requests, i will be willing to continue this and add more character's POVs on their night before the arena.**

**Over and Out**

**~Reaper**


	2. Brain over Brawn

**Brain over Brawn**

Foxface's POV

_Sly, Elusive, Cunning_. That's what they called me, the female tribute from District 5. I sat on the plush sofa, looking at a recap of the training scores. I had shown the Gamemakers everything that I had, from my vast knowledge of plants, to my sneakiness. They had awarded me a six, which was way more than I expected. I truly believed that if I tried, I could make it. I could hear Claudius Templesmith's voice in my head.

"_Announcing the winner of the 74__th__ annual hunger games, Zorra Luz!"_

I was stuck in my daydream when my District partner, Jeremiah, walked in.

"Hey Zorra," he said, sitting down next to me and staring at the set. I didn't say anything. It's better not to get friendly with you predator or prey. Jeremiah could either kill me or I could kill him. I didn't want to risk getting to know him. I looked at him. Jeremiah was the stark opposite of me when it comes to looks. I had bright red hair, and green eyes. I had freckles that sprayed across my nose and cheeks. On the other hand, Jeremiah had jet black hair, electric blue eyes, and a tanner tone, though not even half as tan as Rue and Thresh. I stared straight, refusing to look at him.

"Zorra, are you okay?" he asked, gripping my shoulder. I shrugged his hand off and ignored the hurt expression on his face.

"Zorra, please, speak to me. I'm just as scared as you are," he said quietly. Fury bubbled up inside me.

"Scared? I'm not fucking scared! Why don't you understand that I don't want to be your friend! What if I have to kill you in the arena, or you have to kill me? Friends don't exactly help then Jeremiah, do they?" I screamed in his face. He looked taken aback. Hot tears flowed down my face. In a few days, one of us or both of us was going to be dead, and there was nothing we could do about it. Why was he being so stupid?

"Zorra, I know how you feel," he said quietly. He came up to me and gave me a hug. I stayed, frozen in shock, but slowly melted into his embrace. He was a year older than me, but only an inch taller, so he was able to rest his chin on my shoulder. I started sobbing. I was going to die, I was going to die. The words kept playing inside my head. Jeremiah actually had a chance. He was strong, and highly talented with a knife and sword. I was only cunning and elusive, which would delay my death, but do nothing to prevent it. I was hopelessly doomed. Jeremiah put a hand gently on my mouth. He took his head off my shoulder to reveal a surprisingly tear-streaked face.

"Quiet or Yvonne might hear you," he said. Yvonne was one of our Mentors. She was fifty, but looked way older. Yvonne barely ever slept, due to the nightmares she always had, and I was pretty sure that if I kept up the noise, she would come by. Our other mentor was a fifty-seven year old drunk by the name of Jacob. He was constantly drunk, drunker than the idiot Haymitch Abernathy, even though Haymitch was better known. I choked back my sobs and nodded, seeking comfort in Jeremiah's touch, the last thing from home I was ever going to see. We sat down on the couch.

"I am so sorry I shut you out. I guess I was just depressed. Friends?" I said, holding out my hand.

"Friends?" he replied, reaching out to shake it. I smiled the first smile I had in a long time.

"We sat on the sofa, watching recaps of the interviews and parade. We had lame silvery costumes with fake lightning bolts. Stupidest costume ever. If we had the District 12 stylist, well… that would be a whole different story. Jeremiah managed to scrape by with a six by showing them his knife skill, and I did plant identification and snares and earned an excellent score of 8. District 12 earned amazing scores this year. The boy earned an 8 and the girl, she earned an incredible score of 11. District 12 definitely had a huge advantage this year. I sighed, remembering my strategy. Appear sly and evade all the tributes. Jeremiah's was strength and accuracy, though not as accurate as Clove. I seriously hoped that he would survive, if I didn't.

"_If I didn't,"_ the words rang in my head, over and over, like a broken tape recorder. _"If I don't survive." _So many if's, its driving me crazy. Not knowing if I was going to die on the first day, or make it to the final four. Not knowing who my allies were, and what my methods of surviving were. Not knowing what terrain it was in the arena. Not knowing how I was going to die, or who was going to kill me. It was insane. My heart felt hollow at the thought that I wouldn't see my sister again. My sweet older sister, the one who's loved me no matter what. I fingered the bracelet she gave me. It was made of cold steel, and engraved with small lightning bolts. I twirled it, remembering when she gave it to me.

_We were walking along Power Park, a place in District 5 dedicated to our main export to the Capitol, and possibly the only happy place in the entire District. I was around eight years old, my sister was sixteen. I laughed and swung around on the lightning bold shaped monkey bars, while my sister held me up, laughing. Finally, we sat down to rest for a while. My sister looked at me and laughed. My sister was beautiful, with shocking red hair and bright green eyes. I had the same, but in a lesser tone._

_ "Zorra, will you remember me if I go away?" she asked solemnly._

_ "Why are you going away?"_

_ "Zorra, the reaping is tomorrow. The whole district knows I have the most slips in there for taking out tesserae. Odds are, I'm probably going to be picked."_

_ "No you won't Luxa!" I cried, tears springing to my eyes. I hugged her tightly, and she sighed._

_ "Zorra, we all know this is inevitable, there's nothing I can do,"_

_ "NO!" I cried. Luxa grabbed my shoulders and held me at arm's length._

_ "Now wait a second, what will crying help? I need you to promise me that you will be brave Zorra. Be brave for me."_

_ I sniffed, rubbing my eyes. "Okay, I promise,"_

_ "Good then. I want you to take this to remember me by. It gave me strength, and maybe it will help you too." She said, handing me her bracelet. It was a deep midnight blue, engraved with silver lightning bolts._

_ My sister and I walked out of the park. She was reaped the next day, along with her boyfriend Chase, who volunteered so that he could protect her. They ended up being the only two left. They kissed for a while, argued, and with no warning at all, he plunged a knife through his own chest. He was dead before he hit the ground. My sister has been scarred ever since, driven mad by visions of him dying._

I shook my head, shuddering from the sudden flashback. They were showing District 12's training scores. The boy had gotten an eight, but the girl had gotten an 11. This was incredibly good for District twelve. I felt my eyes droop. It was getting late. I slowly dropped my head on Jeremiah's shoulder. I felt his head rest on the top of mine, before sleep carried me away.

*just to clear things up, Zorra mean 'female fox in spanish, and Luz means 'light'*

**Okay, second chapter is up. I absolutely love the name Zorra, and it fits foxface well. I hope you guys like.**

**Okay, I'm not going to write the next chapter until you guys tell me who to write it about, so please review and give me your suggestions.**

**~Reaper**


	3. I Will Always Hate You

**I'll Always Hate You**

I stood near the balcony, looking down, trying to judge the drop. Maybe I could escape. Maybe, I could just die here, and nobody would care. I heard someone come up behind me.

"Go to sleep Marvel. You've got a long day ahead of you. District two has agreed to team up with you two, along with the District three boy and District ten boy," said Cashmere from behind me. Her brother, Gloss, came up from behind her.

"Come on Cash, let's go to bed. Let the idiot stay up if he wants to," he said, escorting her out. I sighed. I hated being a District 1. People thought it was all fame and fortune, but it was far from it. My father forced me to participate in these games. He literally did not care if I got hurt, just that I became famous. I sighed. Being in these games was horrible. I saw how people got killed. I was not the person I projected myself to be. Everybody saw me as a dumb lout. I was far smarter than they thought. And I would show them.

"So, I hear this is where all the retards meet," I heard Glimmer say from behind me. Glimmer. Damn, she made my blood boil. She was a stupid asshole, yet she bossed everyone around like she was their mother. She's always the center of attention, all thanks to her body. She's even charmed her way to Cato, even though it seems there's a little something between him and Clove. I turned around, trying to keep my temper under control.

"What do you want Glimmer?" I asked, annoyed by her presence. She smirked, and I felt a sudden urge to punch her face in. I clenched my fists. Fighting before the games was not a good way to stay alive.

"Oh, nothing really; just wanted to say goodbye to you. There can only be one Victor, and it's obviously going to be me, so, just wanted to warn you that your days are numbered," she said haughtily. I whipped around, grabbed her collar, and pinned her against the wall.

"Listen brat. I don't care what you think, first chance I get, I will kill you. I don't care that you're my district partner; I will hurt you if I have to. If I were you, I'd shut up right now and go to bed, before I punch your face in," I yelled at her, not caring if anyone heard. She turned pale, and looked at me with a menacing expression. I threw her aside, and she fell on the balcony floor. She got up, and looked at me with a look of pure hatred.

"I will make sure that you regret this brat, no matter what I have to do," she spat, and then walked back into the tribute apartment. I leaned over the railing and sighed. I was headed towards imminent death, and there was nothing I could do about it. Unless…. I won. I mean, I was strong, and it would mean I could make my father proud. The possibilities began turning the gears in my head. I could win this. All I'd have to do is kill the careers, and anyone who the audience loves. I shuddered at the thought. I would have to kill someone in order to ensure my survival. But I would do it, and I would start with Glimmer. I would become their perfect ideal of a career.

I will fool them all.

**Okay, so this chapter is short. I don't know how to elaborate on it, but it turned out better than i thought, probably because they made Marvel's character so vague in the book.**

**~Thanks to EndlessMidnightSky for suggesting to write this chapter in Marvel's POV.**

**What character's POV should i do next?**

**Over and Out**

**~Reaper**


	4. I'll Hurt You, But You Don't Hurt Me?

**I'll Hurt You, But You Don't Hurt Me?**

**Cloves POV**

I looked down from the balcony, watching the parade. Those Capitol idiots and their antics; I swear, they were walking freak shows. Still, I had to stay loyal to them. One wrong step in these games, and I'd be dead before I know it. I was a career, and I was supposed to bring honor to my family.

My family.

I gripped the railing harder as I thought of them. I had a father who regularly abused me, and a stepmother who hated me. The only person who really liked me was my stepbrother Sage, but he was too old to stay with the family, and he moved out about two years ago. Ever since then, my life's been a living hell. My stepmother doesn't give me enough food, and my father is often drunk, and he calls me worthless. He said I could never bring honor to the family. That's the whole reason I entered the games.

To prove him wrong.

I continued watching the parade down below. Something about it was relaxing, almost calming. Almost as if I wasn't going towards certain death.

_"No, you can't afford to think that way Clove. You will win, you have to,"_ I said to myself. I sighed, thinking of my strategy. I had portrayed myself as vicious, unforgiving. My mentor, Enrobia, told me to. I can't help but think that I should have taken a stronger offense, such as sly, or like Glimmer, downright sexy. Being tough…well, all tributes were tough in their own ways. Even the weak ones had an incessant fire inside of them. I remembered a victor from a few years ago, Johanna Mason. Everyone believed that she was weak, cowardly, and that she was destined to die in the bloodbath. The moment she got her hands on an axe, the careers were dead. I truly admired Johanna for being so strong when there was nobody left for her.

"Hey," said a quiet voice from behind me. I turned around to see Cato standing behind me. Blonde hair, grayish-blue eyes, and a complete six-pack, Cato was quite the looker. I think the only person who hasn't fallen for him yet is me.

"Hey," I said back quietly, continuing to look over the railing. My dark black hair fell over to one side of my face, masking half of it. I felt Cato come behind me and smooth my hair back behind my ear. Suddenly, an irrational annoyance came over me. He had no right to touch me. Quick as a flash, I grabbed his hand and bent it behind his back with one of my hands, and used my other hand to push his shoulder forward. I had used this move many times in combat training.

"OWWW…OWW..OKAY…..you can let go now…" he said, raising his voice a bit. I quit putting pressure on his shoulder.

"No seriously, let go Clove," he said. I frowned. He could easily pull out of my grip now. Hell, he could even snap my neck right this instant, with little to no effort. So why wasn't he loosening his grip.

"Try loosening it yourself," I said, trying to see what he would do.

"No seriously, let go, I don't wanna hurt you,"

"Why not? It's one less person you have to kill out there," I said bitterly. He sighed, and gently broke his hands from my grip. I hung my head, my feelings getting to me. Hot tears blurred my vision. I felt Cato's arms grab both my shoulders and pull me into a hug.

"Hey, I get what you're feeling," he said, and to my surprise, he sounded choked up. I looked up to see him crying. Crying? Hah, Cato the vicious District 2 tribute, was crying. Nobody would believe me if I told them this. I slipped out of his grasp and went to the railing, letting my tears fall freely.

Cato came over, and his hand found mine next to the railing. A warm sensation ran up my arm and brought a blush to my face. _"Stop it Clove!" _I thought to myself. I felt my heart race. I was falling for Cato, and it was right before the games. I cursed myself.

And so we stood there, holding hands and watching the people down below. The people who would send us off to our untimely death. I fought my feelings for Cato, I knew I would end up broken if I didn't. Either he, or I, was going to die in these games, there was no use hoping for the impossible.

Funny how the Capitol can tear everything away from you in one swift jerk.

**_okay, so here's the next chapter in my "till the day i die" series. Im not going to post up another chapter unless someone gives me an idea for the next POV. the next character cant be from one of the districts that ive already mentioned though. If youre going to make me do a district in which they havent identified the characters, make sure to make your own OCs, and give me their description. this way, i can accuratly write a good chapter._**

**_hope you guys like._**

**_~Reaper_**


End file.
